Hearts Burst Into Fire
by windheartyuki
Summary: One year after the sorceress war, Squall lives his life as Commander Leonhart, the weapons instructor. Daily he deals with the scars left behind by the war, Time compression, and Rinoa until one day new student Recka Blaszak comes along and things begin to change. Squall/OC.
1. Character bio

Name: Squall Leonhart/Loire  
Age: 18  
Birthday: August 23  
Height: 5'11"  
Eyes: Blue  
Hair: Brown  
Bodily Marks: gash scar from above his right eye, slashing diagonally down to the left side of his nose, a few miscellaneous scars here and there, mostly faded and randomly placed over his body  
Occupation: Commander/Weapons teacher/Sorceress war veteran  
Likes: Weapons, training, keeping things clean, reading, alcohol, rain  
Dislikes: When people talk too much, idiots, the way his class acts, his past, his father  
Wants: to stop having flashbacks of the war, won't admit the rest yet.  
Fears: Dogs, Magic, Getting hurt again, Time (due to time compression)  
Love interest: Recka  
Best friend: Zell Dincht  
Friends: Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas  
Group: Fated Children

Name: Recka Blaszak (pronounced Bla-sack)  
Age: 18  
Birthday: December 22  
Height: 5'4.5"  
Eyes: gray/green  
Hair: Vibrant copper orange/chin length  
Bodily Marks: a few miscellaneous scars here and there, mostly faded and randomly placed over her sides  
Outfit: a red utility belt with a few knives, grenades, and other items over tight leather shorts with a short, white vest over a shorter black sports-bra shaped top. A knee-high pair of black combat boots and a simple double-edged sword  
Occupation: SeeD student, Name not available/minor war veteran  
Likes: Weapons, training, reading, rain, snow, writing, drawing, toned muscles  
Dislikes: When people talk too much, girly girls, rude people, the color pink, large crowds  
Wants: to protect people from the same fate she had, to find that special someone, to find the right weapon and succeed in life  
Fears: birth, being alone, never finding love  
Love interest: Squall Leonhart  
Family figure: Zell Dincht (brother figure)  
Best friend: Selphie Tilmitt  
Friends: Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas  
Group: N/A


	2. New student, Are you lost?

Recka Blaszak walks aimlessly around the hallways of SeeD academy in Balamb, cursing the annoying uniform that the girls had to wear. She had been given a map by Headmaster Cid and sent on her way. After a while she sits down on a bench in defeat, almost completely giving up. She stares at the map in a heated manner.

Squall is walking down the same hallway, a bit ahead of her, on his way to his classroom. He is dressed in a slightly modified version of the uniform, the only difference being a medal signifying his ranking, viewing it as more fitting to wear than his other apparel. She notices him and feels as if she should follow him to where it is she needs to be.

She keeps her distance and follows him, sighing in relief when she realizes that her intuition had been right. She somewhat shyly walks into the classroom and down the far corner aisle, stopping at a seat in the very back, by the large windows.

He slowly goes to the front desk waiting for her to take her seat. Upon waiting, he scans the class as well looking to see who is there and who is not. After doing so, he gets ready to teach the class.

She loses her breath when she gets a good look at her teacher's face, almost certain that her heart had skipped a beat as well. She does her best to pay attention to the lesson but can't help getting lost in this man's presence.

He notices that she is not paying attention and glares at her for a second and then goes back to teaching. He goes over the various kinds of blades, explaining the strength and weaknesses of each of them.

She had only given attention when she heard him mention the gunblade. The name intrigued her so she spent the duration of trying to keep her eyes off of him by drawing what she thought this curious blade looked like.

Once the lesson is over he sits at his desk leaning back looking at the ceiling, waiting for every last student to leave.

Recka stood outside of the room and immediately went to a bench across from his classroom, sitting down on it and mulling over the map again.

He walks up to her and clears his throat. "I noticed you were doing anything but paying attention." he looks rather annoyed and angry. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't have kicked you out of class for that?"

"Well I was paying attention when you were talking about the gunblade sir. But I already knew about the other things you were talking about." She looks up at him shyly and can't help the very light blush that coats her cheeks.

"Is that so? Well then if you want to know more about it you might as well go get one. I am a weapon specialist with the gunblade." he looks away and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm already late. Don't follow me like a sad puppy like last time ok?" he starts to walk toward the training room.

She lets out a dreamy sigh and jumps a little when a brown haired girl in a yellow dress suddenly appears right in front of her. She puts her right hand on her own heart and catches her breath.

The girl grins and offers her hand politely, "Hiya'! I'm Selphie! You must be new."

Recka offers a small smile and nods as she watches Squall walk around the corner and out of view. Once out of sight she looks up at Selphie from her seat and takes her hand, I'm Recka."

Selphie giggles excitedly, "Hey, do you need a guide? I'll show you around to your classes!" She seizes up Recka's schedule and lets out a little excited squeal, "Let's go!"

A few hours pass by, the day soon turning into nighttime and Squall still has not left the training room, something that has often happened. However, this time he was not training.

Recka had become acquainted with Selphie throughout the day and after classes she decided she would try out the training room. She changed out of her uniform and put on a red utility belt with a few knives, grenades, and other items over tight, black leather shorts with a short, white vest over a shorter black sports-bra shaped top. She put on a knee-high pair of black combat boots and grabbed a simple double-edged sword.

As Recka walked, she was completely oblivious to what awaited her just around the corner. Squall was in the training room, sitting on one of the very few benches placed throughout the thick jungle, staring at the ground, in what seemed to be a trance. He didn't move an inch and it looked as if he wasn't breathing. He looked a bit troubled and although he was conscious, he seemed to be not completely there.

Recka had fought a few T-Rexaurs, going straight-forward in attempts of getting into the middle of the room, hoping something special would appear if she did. She frowned and cautiously waved a hand in front of his line of vision. She did her best to stay calm not only for him but for her on self as she felt the need to almost hyper-ventilate.

Squall broke out of his trance for a second and scowled at her. "What did I tell you? " he goes back to just staring now he has a pained look on his face. How could he be so careless? Not only was he mulling over his past way too much, but he had let a student catch him in this state. He had become weaker than he had ever fought to avoid becoming.

She places her hands on her hips and scowls, "I didn't follow you here. I came here to train. I just happened to see you looking really sad. I understand if you're sad but that's no way to act. Whatever happened in your past, I'm sure it was scarring or messed up but it's no use moping over it and messing up your future." She sighs. Here she was just trying to train and she just has to not only find a teacher, but the one she likes, and then snap at him!

He let out an audible sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. He swallows the lump in his throat and finds his voice. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should try and get over this. Say did you want to see my weapon?" he starts to lighten up as he now faces her with the smallest semblance of a smile on his face.

"Your gunblade? Sure." She smiles, "What's its name?" She lowers her hands from her hips, no longer feeling upset with her new teacher. She very slowly began to feel that overwhelming feeling of enjoyment in this man's presence. She felt her heartbeat speed up a little and suddenly that almost completely stoic expression was making her cheeks feel warm.

He takes out the weapon and holds it in front of him for her to see it in all its glory. It seems completely void of all damage and very shiny. She starts to see her own reflection in the blade as Squall speaks with a swell of pride in his chest and his voice."Its name is Lionheart."

Her eyes sparkle as she marvels over the blade, taking in all of the perfect curves, the design, and the lion pattern that just screams that it's the best, the strongest. She finds her breath and stares at her reflection next, "It's gorgeous."

"Thank you. Would you like to hold it?" he seems to be completely at peace now seemingly care free like nothing is troubling him anymore. If he was in his panicked state he would be questioning why his mood was trying to change, and why he was being so kind to this woman, let alone a student. Keeping up the tiny smile he nods, motioning it's alright to take it from his hands. "Just be careful, it's heavier than most weapons."

A shy blush appears on her face as she listens to this offer, staring at the gorgeous blade in this man's hands, "I probably shouldn't. I wouldn't want to accidentally drop it or anything." She waves her hands slightly in front of her a little bit before lowering them to her side and looking to the side a little shyly.

"Well you're right to turn it down. But this is a once in a life time chance that I'd let ever someone touch mine." he holds it away and thinks for a second. "I could teach you to use one if you want?" he seems at ease as he says this and looks over at her.

Her entire world seemed to stop at just that one simple question, "You would be willing to teach me?" She looked at him in slight disbelief, having believed just a few minutes ago that her new teacher and crush had somehow found a reason to dislike her.

"Well I don't mind at all. If you're willing to learn is all i need to know" he looks at her with a serious expression etched onto his glorious face. He does not look like he holds a single ounce of playfulness when he says this. She thought to herself that he would not have a reason to dislike her either seeing as it's her first day. For some odd reason unbeknownst to her, she felt comfortable with this serious look.

She takes in his expression, feeling a knot in her stomach as she mulls it over. He seems like he would be a great teacher and she wants to wield a gunblade as well, and this would certainly be a chance for them to grow closer together, hopefully. She nods slowly and looks straight into his piercing eyes that scream nothing but Alpha, "I am."

"Then take it. You will need to get a feel for its weight." He hands her the blade once more, watching her reaction carefully. He inspects her to see if she would be able to lift it at all, let alone grip it properly.

She grips it tightly and almost drops it but uses all the strength she can muster to keep it up, her breath becoming labored. Somewhat surprisingly to him, she had miraculously held it in the proper manner, both hands on the handle with one's fingers firmly embedded in the handle's ridges.

He helps her lift the blade, standing behind her. "A weapon like this is modified for each user. Be sure to remember that." he gently helps her swing it to get a feel for it. "The heavier it is the more reckless it is. So you should have one easier to swing and hold if you intend to wield one."

She nods and tries to control the red blush that's ever so threateningly attempting to spread, "Yes sir." after a small moment he takes back the weapon and sheathes it.

"That's enough for right now. We will get you one sometime later. Got it?" he then starts to walk to his room quietly. "I will see you in class tomorrow Recka." He lazily waves and walks through the thick jungle, out of sight and into the school building.

She blinks and slides down to her knees, the blush she had been trying to hide now coating her cheeks in an ensemble of pinks and reds, "Yeah. Tomorrow." A T-Rexaur appears and she casts sleep, having been in too much of a love-sick state to bother with the ferocious dinosaur. She walks back to her room, miraculously not getting lost and changes into a t-shirt, falling onto her bed.

The next day Recka walked into his class with a slight spring in her step. She wore a black headband with cherries on it and a barely noticeable warm smile. She was anxious to see her new teacher again not only to learn to use a gunblade, but because she had acquired a feeling that she had never felt so intensely. Was it alright to even think about feeling this way about a teacher?

As Squall teaches his lesson he stays at ease making sure not to ramble and keeps the lesson short. Once he finishes speaking he waits for everyone to leave, sitting at his desk with his eyes closed making sure to wait for every last person to leave before he pinches the bridge of his nose, his classroom light now shut off.

Recka walks out of the room and feels panic take over her as she realizes she had forgotten her way. She presses up against a wall and waits for the halls to clear so she can hopefully think straighter. Her thoughts begin to swim at the now blur of people. Where was Selphie?

Squall starts to walk out of the room and notices her, "Is something the matter Recka?" he says this with a slightly, almost unnoticeable concerned look. Why does she look so distressed? Did something happen during his class? 'No.' He thought. He closely pays attention to everyone during class.

She looks over at him and tries to put a calm expression on her face, slowly beginning to regain her breath as the blurs focus into becoming people once more, "I'm just lost is all. I'll be fine." How long was she standing there? Let alone, how long was Commander Leonhart standing there? This is so embarrassing!

"Where are you trying to go?" The commander is standing up straight, looking proper and pristine in all of his glory. He looks down at her only with his eyes, not bothering to lower his chin at all, waiting for an answer... Whatever.

"I'm attempting to head to my next class, actually." She stared out at the crowd in utter defeat, sitting down on the bench as her face pales the slightest bit.

He pinches the bridge of his nose in what she thinks in frustration then lowers his hand, opening his eyes, "What class? I'll have to help you."

She thinks for a moment and draws a blank. What was that woman's name again? She reaches into her bag and takes her schedule out, finding the class name quickly due to the hearts next to commander Leonhart's name that vividly stands out next to the black text. She then puts it back in her bag and looks up at the tall man, "I have Ms. Trepe's class next."

"I see. Her. Just follow me." he starts to walk to her classroom with a little bit of a reluctant face. He seems annoyed to hear her name, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He couldn't give into looking weak, especially in front of a student. He wasn't commander for nothing so he would just have to put up with that woman.

She silently follows him for a moment before seeing the look on his face and going into an internal panic, "I-it's okay you know. I think I'll eventually find it." She waves her right hand dismissively, as if shooing away the problem of being lost. She hopes he would buy it so he wouldn't be more upset than he already looked.

"I don't mind showing you to her room once." He almost huffed out a rather long breath of air in annoyance. She had tried such a basic attempt of escape that he could only feel a tick of annoyance, "Just once."

"What does she teach, anyways?" She spares a quick glance to look up at the tall man. He has his gaze focused almost mechanically to straight ahead, much to her relief as she takes in his looks. She feels her cheeks flush as she looks from his strong jaw to his slightly pursed lips, to the end of his scar.

"She usually just teaches how to use your Guardian force. I didn't pay much attention." He answers truthfully. He begins to feel someone's gaze burning into the side of his face so he turns his head to look down at the girl next to him, catching her in the act of hurriedly putting her gaze in front of her.

"Well I already know all that so it's alright if I miss it." She goes into coaxing mode. She can only hope that she can find some kind of opening to convince this man not to face whatever is upsetting him. Who needs to sit something that they already know, anyways?

"That is, if you want to get a bad report. If you want to risk it I won't stop you." He mocks what he says, having skipped her class many times as well.

She smirks and crosses her arms under her chest, "It's practically the easiest class there is."

"It truly is." he stops and lets out the smallest of chuckles. "I think you get the idea so ill leave that to you. Do you really want to go or do you just want to skip it? After all it's just as boring as ever."

"I honestly just want to skip it. A girl named Selphie helped me to her class yesterday and I almost fell asleep five minutes in." She resists the urge to laugh at the memory of Selphie poking at her arm and cheek in attempts to keep her awake.

"Then do as you please. I had nothing to do with you skipping. Got it?" He then starts to walk off back to his class, raising his right hand lazily in the air as a goodbye.

She nods and smiles, "I got it teach." She winks at him and finds her way to her dorm, punching in the code and closing the door behind her. She strips off her clothes as the walks to her bathroom, turning on the shower water and getting a fresh towel out. She then steps in the water and sighs in relief as the hot water rolls over her skin. She slips into a world of daydreaming.

As Squall walks to his office he thinks to himself. Could she really be the one to save him from his torment? "Che, no." he says as he contradicts his own thoughts. He sits down in the black leather chair at his desk and looks at the papers on it, his eyes stopping on a letter from his father.

He didn't know why the man bothered when it was so obvious that Squall wanted nothing to do with him. Nonetheless he picked the letter up and opened it, reading it thoroughly.

_Squall,  
I haven't heard from you lately and I've been wondering how you've been doing. How's work? Did you meet anyone new? I really wish you would come up to visit sometime. I know you probably don't care if I want you to but I want you to know that Ellone wants to see you as well. Work's been a little slow and I've had a lot of free time. I would really like to see you again son.  
Love, Laguna_

He scoffs and tosses the letter back onto the desk. "Tsk, whatever." he gets up and to walks to the window, thinking to himself about the contents of the letter. Why did his father try so much? Why didn't he just stop?

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse he hears his annoying 'father's' voice in his head, "But Squall I-"

"Stop with that!" he shouts to himself, starting to get mad. He then storms off to the training room. If anything can get his delusions to stop, it would be by fighting.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are always much appreciated! There are going to be sex scenes between the two so I need you guys to tell me if you think I should post them separately or keep them with this story but with a warning before them**


	3. Broken Pasts and Skipping Class

**So before you guys read or flame I need to make sure you understand something. They are both going to be scarred in some way or another. Squall went through a lot of things and it was kind of unrealistic for him to come out of so many things being unscarred. So yes he will have fears and breakdowns but he'll be healed eventually. Enjoy!**

* * *

Squall sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse he hears his annoying 'father's' voice in his head, "But Squall I-"

"Stop with that!" he shouts to himself, starting to get mad. He then storms off to the training room. If anything can get his delusions to stop, it would be by fighting.

Coincidentally, Recka had just entered the training room in the same outfit as last night, completely unaware of the fuming man that was soon to walk in. She had just reached to unsheathe her sword from her left side but stopped as said man practically stormed in.

She backs up and gets out of his way, watching his back as he disappears into the thick foliage. What was wrong with him? Why did he look so upset and ready to tear something apart? She lets curiosity take over and slowly follows him, hoping a T-Rexaur wouldn't appear and make her lose track of him.

Unfortunately the beasts had other plans and one appears in front of her a few minutes later. She draws her sword in frustration and lets the T-Rexaur bite at her, jumping just at the last second, raising her sword above her head, and bringing it down. The force caused some blood to sprout from a new large gash on top of its head and down between its eyes.

Once it was defeated she continued on her way. She speeds up her pace and soon slows when she relocates Squall. He seems to be furious and not saying a word while breathing heavily. His gunblade is stabbed through the ground sticking up. By the looks of the messed up dirt around it, he had done it in a messy manner, most likely in rage or desperation, she deduces.

Something inside her reacts and she backs up a good bit, hoping she hadn't been noticed in fear of whatever anger he had flowing.

He turns around and looks at her, his facial expression stoic at first. In shock he falls to the ground, holding his head with his eyes slowly widening.

She panics on the inside and very slowly walks up to him, attempting but failing to keep her voice calm, a bit of panic ringing instead. "A-are you alright?"

He slowly nods his head, finally looking up at her as he lowers his hands down from his face, the frightened look in his steely eyes slowly fading into the corner of his irises.

"I-Is there anything I can do?" She kneels down to his level, gently resting her right hand on his shoulder. She couldn't help but marvel at the feeling but quickly gets after herself. He needs help! He doesn't need some girl fawning over him.

"I don't know." He shakes his head, trying to get his thoughts back into place. How could he let himself have a flashback and a breakdown in a place where others could see him?! It's unforgiveable.

"Well why don't we get you to your room and get you something to drink? She panicked a bit inside when he had shaken his head. He could have hurt himself! Men are so reckless that it's just flat out ridiculous!

He very slowly nods, no longer having the power to resist taking help from someone. He was weak and didn't really have a choice, "Alright." He stands up pulling Lionheart out of the ground, seeming a bit shaken, and the state of this only increasing with the heavy weapon in his grasp caused a thin sheet of sweat to begin coating his skin.

"Are you going to be able to carry that?" She softly places her hand on his right one, feeling to make sure that it is steady with the heavy weapon in it, that way he wouldn't lie to her about his ability.

He nods saying yes as he slings it over his shoulder. He couldn't seem weak. He has to seem strong even if he isn't at the moment. Giving in isn't an option. "Just take me to my room."

She nods and lightly grabs his free hand, walking towards what is hopefully the way to the boys' dorms.

He stays silent but you feel him shaking. He looks around trying not to freak out again. "All of that over that annoying man..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She cautiously looks over at him, not wanting to annoy him or make him feel like she's digging around.

"Che, it's not as if it matters much. I'm not sure how me hating him has to do with anything." he scowls looking at the ground.

"Well it seems to have triggered some kind of emotional breakdown so it must be something."

"I got a letter from my father. I can't stand him one bit." he seems to get a little irritated mentioning the letter, let alone his father.

She almost lets go of his hand, feeling a little bit of fear from his irritated tone, "O-oh."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." In his confused and tired state he let himself actually show he's apologetic. "Let's just get to my room and I'll explain."

She nods, "Right. I'm going the right way, right?" She seems to be slowly losing her way in the unfamiliar hallways. This place is so confusing that it would surely take a while for her to memorize the place.

"It's that way" he points to a hall to the left. "Down there, the door on the right."

She nods and turns to the left, walking to his door on the right, letting go of his hand so he could punch in the code.

He punches in the code and mutters, "Thanks." As the door opens he shoves it a little to go faster and tiredly walks over to a chair located in the far corner of the room, by the only window.

She closes the door behind her and looks around the room, taking in its plain and clean, yet inviting atmosphere, "Can I get you something to drink, sir?"

"You can call me by my name you know. I'd like some water." He rubs his face with his hands tiredly.

"I actually don't know your name. Was I supposed to?" She found a cupboard and took a glass out, filling it with water and handing it to him.

"It's Squall." He takes the cup gently and starts to drink the water in it, soon speeding his swallows into rather large gulps.

She smiles and shuts the light of the small bathroom section that she got the water from off, "That's an interesting name Squall. I like it."

"Thanks. Yours is pretty interesting as well." He sets the cup down on the table beside him and looks at her from across the room.

"There's a story behind that. Apparently that's all I could say when the orphanage tried asking my name. I think I was saying 'wrecker' wrong." She shrugs.

"It's still quite the interesting name." He smiles the slightest bit at her as he sighs. "I'll tell you the story then."

She nods and leans against the rather plain white wall beside the door, crossing her arms under her chest and crossing her right leg behind her left.

* * *

He tells her everything. About his family, about how he became a teacher, how he was a veteran of the sorceress war, even Rinoa and Ultimecia. He seemed to have slight breakdowns during each different subject. During some he would seem angry and upset, and with others he would seem sad and broken, almost empty and devoid of any hope.

By the end she had a sorrowful look on her face and tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. About halfway through, she had to sit on the cold floor from pure devastation. This man did not deserve anything that happened to him. He was just an innocent child that longed for someone to love him but lost the one person that did.

He just sits there and lets her cry, silently mulling over why he would to intricately share his past with someone, let alone at all, and to a student of all people. "That's everything there is to know about me." He leans back in his chair and sighs, propping his left arm on the arm of the chair and resting his head on his closed fist.

She shakes her head and catches her breath, slowly finding her voice, "I'm so sorry that happened to you." She looks up at him through her gray/green eyes that are still watery, causing her vision to be blurry. She wishes she could do more than just listen, to actually ease his pain instead of have him bring it up and then do nothing about it.

"It's fine. It's just a pain to remember though." He lazily sits there; now feeling relaxed as he stares down at the crying girl, "Are you alright?" The girl looks weak and broken and all he did was talk. Were all girls like this? Did all girls cry at a simply memory? Whatever; it isn't his problem.

She nods, wiping the tears off of her cheeks, causing them to look red and irritated. She sniffled a few times, her vision slowly becoming more focused, taking in the facial expression of the man in front of her, "Yes, I'm alright."

"Well is there isn't anything else to know." He seems as if he is dismissing her passively, not exactly being nice but not being rude.

She nods and turns to open the door, silently walking out as she feels a sharp gaze on her back, no doubt coming from the cold and analyzing eyes of Squall.

"See you in class tomorrow." He murmurs to her as he slowly walks across the room and lies in his bed. Why did he bother letting the woman stay so long in his room when not only was he a teacher but he barely knew her.

He chalks it off to his breakdown and strips down to nothing as that's how he prefers so sleep and soon drifts off into what would most likely be another night of restless nightmares and flashbacks.

The next day Squall walks into the classroom but saw one certain desk was empty, Recka's. He walks to his desk and sits down in the leather chair, his usual stoic expression etched onto his face. He had gotten a surprisingly peaceful sleep last night, having only woken up from a single nightmare in which he would rather prefer to forget instead of recall what queer things went on in it and the state he had woken up in.

"Where is she?" he murmurs to himself under his breath as he begins to teach. He abruptly stands from his chair and turns to the board, writing down information on the saber swords, what they look like, their uses, weaknesses and their advantages. Turning back around to his seat, he takes his place in it and leans backwards, slightly reclining, "Write down everything you see on the board. I want this all done in 10 minutes."

He then lets his thoughts wander to Recka. Why isn't she in class? She seemed absolutely fine yesterday and only had permission to skip Quistis' class. There is no valid reason to skip his seeing as how he actually teaches something, and something useful at that. He sighs and subtly pinches the bridge of his nose before quickly letting his hand fall back down.

He soon stands up once the ten minutes is up and cuts the lesson short, "That is all for today. Read that over and remember it well. You are dismissed." The class quickly gets up, practically fleeing out of the room in excitement from their early freedom. Once the room is cleared, Squall locks it up and calmly walks the hall, keeping an eye out as he looks for the absent ginger.

She is not in the training room and not in any of the hallways he had deduced after a few short minutes, "Where is she?" He mutters as he checks the library and looks out of the windows and at the quad as he continues down the hallway.

She is nowhere to be found in the sea of students that is slowly thinning. Squall sighs as there is only one more place to look that he can think of, her dormitory. Is it even right to check a student's room? He decides that it does not matter seeing that he was just a student himself a year ago. He makes his way to the girls' dormitory hallways.

He had caught a glimpse of her schedule the day she pulled it out, thankfully, so he caught a glimpse of her dorm number. He keeps walking until he finally makes it to just about the end of a long hallway and turns to the right, knocking on her gray, metal door.

Recka looks over at the door at the sound of knocking and glares at it, eyes glazed over. She gets off of her bed and walks over slowly, pressing down on the doorknob, allowing the door to slightly open. She rushes back to hide under her mound of green covers, silently hoping that it was not someone annoying or creepy at her door.

Squall knocks one more time, resisting the urge to sigh as the girl does not answer. "It's Squall. Is there something the matter? You were not in class today." He almost seems the slightest bit concerned and confused but Recka just chalked it off as her mind playing tricks on her.

She sniffles and tries to control her voice to make it sound calm, "The door's open." She then buries her face into her pillow, barely even wanting to see the face of the person walking in, completely unprepared for what happens next.

He comes in and closes the door behind him, immediately bombarding her with his obvious rage and frustration, "What the hell is going on right now?!"

She jumps the slightest bit and buries her face deeper into her pillow, her voice now sounding muffled and hoarse, "I don't feel well."

"And why do you not feel well?" He comes closer to her, looking at her in disbelief as he analyzes even the slightest move that she might make. He can only see the very top of her head and her messy, orange hair, most likely mussed up from staying in bed.

She curls up further, her head now completely under the covers, "It's nothing to be too concerned about sir."

"Are you sure about that?" He asks as he becomes annoyed with her, the emotion clearly appearing in his tone. He now stands very close to the foot of her bed, waiting to see her next move.

And sure enough, he can see the mound of covers begin to lightly shake. "Yes, I'm sure."

He sneers at her childishness and crosses his arms across his broad chest, "I'm going to leave then." He turns his back and goes to leave, no longer caring the slightest bit about whatever bullshit excuse the girl would try to come up with for skipping his class.

She pops her head out of the covers and cutely coughs, looking at him. She blinks slowly a few times, drinking in the looks of the handsome man whom she should be embarrassed to have see her room since she is a girl and does indeed have a few bras scattered across the room.

However, she was more concerned about keeping him here with her, seeing more pride in him knowing about her large chest size rather than shame.

Squall turns around and looks at her with an almost challenging look in his eyes, piercing straight into hers, only making her heart beat faster against her ribcage. "Did you say something?"

She lightly blushes and quickly thinks of the appropriate response, going with the oblivious one, "I just coughed, sir."

"Is that so?" He then turns around and opens the door to leave.

"Why did you come to see me?" She sits up.

"I came because you were not in class and I thought I should find out why." He stops again with the door open, his frame filling up the doorway.

"Well you won't know why if you leave." She barters for her time, wanting him to hopefully understand her more. If not that, then at least he would spend a little more time with her.

"Fine, I'll stay." An annoyed look crosses his face as he closes the door and sits down in a chair that is right across from her bed.

She gets back under the covers and pops her head out at the bottom of the bed to look at him, "I wasn't in class because I had some really bad nightmares."

"I see." He seems uninterested. "And what could they be about?" he looks around her room, trying to keep his calm façade as he notices the bras, most of them sporty, with a few lacy and obviously only for the bedroom.

"You caused them, actually. Well, your past did." She follows his gaze and blushes in both embarrassment and pride as he sees what she has.

He nods in acknowledgement, his eyes finally shifting from the bras to her.

"You had spoken about your mother dying and hating your father... and that triggered me to remember watching my own parents die right in front of me." She feels her heart begin to ache again, no longer feeling the easing feeling of having Squall in the room with her.

"I see." He seems slightly bothered by that but quickly masks it with a voice of carelessness and slight boredom.

"And I woke up screaming bloody murder and in a cold sweat, which hasn't happened in years." She curls up into a tighter position, trying to control the sweat from breaking out.

He feels some shock run through his system but slightly narrows his eyes, refusing to give into his emotions. He wouldn't be weak. "Whatever Recka"

"And then I fell back asleep and had a nightmare about watching you die too. And that confuses the hell out of me." She glares at him, feeling a fire of slight rage at how she reacted to his past.

. "I died?" He slightly leans forward in his chair, feeling confusion. Why would she have that kind of dream about him? Why would she dream about him at all?

She slowly nods, "You.. seemed to be trying to get to me then.." She sighs and buries her face back under the covers, feeling her breakdown near closer and closer.

He leans back in his chair and relaxes, speaking in a matter of fact tone, "Well I'm still alive so there isn't a reason to be afraid." He isn't one for comfort so he's never known how to handle someone when they're in need of it. He only knows how to push people away so that's what he sticks with doing. He'd have to push this girl away and hope she doesn't break herself in the fall.

"It's not fear that's the problem. It's the image that I can't get out of my head. The almost realistic feeling of having blood splatter onto my face..." She shivers at the memory. She didn't want to see something so gory happen to anyone, especially her love interest and teacher. She knows that they would most likely never become a couple but she would still care about him.

"I see. That's a little disturbing." He looks a little crept out but still sounds uncaring, feeling his heartbeat speed up. His blood had splashed on her face? He could barely control the shudder that tries to escape.

"No. What's disturbing is what your fucking dying words were, man!" She feels her breakdown fully coming on. She remembers what he said as he had fallen into her arms and given her their final kiss, his bloody ending.

He gets startled from her sudden shouting and falls out of the chair, his own breakdown coming on stronger than he had predicted it would. "Ouch fuck!"

She gasps and all he could see of her was the covers violently shaking. She quietly, almost silently muttered his dying words continuously, almost in a whisper, "I love you."

"What?!" He freaks out hearing the words just before passing out from hitting his head on the floor.

She slowly pokes her head out from under the covers and considerably pales, "Oh my Hyne."

She does her best to get him onto the bed and puts an ice pack on the back of his head. She then grabs a shower and dresses to go to the training room. "Sorry..." She had broken him. And she couldn't forgive herself for that.

He stayed in a deep sleep for a good five hours, oblivious to the unbalance around him. Recka fought every T-Rexaur that challenged her until she finally ran into the alpha. She had freaked him out. She made a mistake and she let herself break down! Though when she ran into the Alpha, it sank its jaws deeply into her left thigh, like the way her own heart's Alpha had done to it.


End file.
